On this episode of Let's Be Real Mama Journeys, Nikki sits down with Gina Schrek and Lea Costello for a candid, funny, and refreshingly real conversation about motherhood, stress, burnout, healing, and the impossible expectations women often place on themselves.

Lea shares the story behind her upcoming book, Be Your Own Medicine: Healing from Chronic Stress and Reclaiming Your Rhythm, which she says was written from a place of collapse rather than inspiration. She opens up about recognizing when stress and exhaustion had taken over and her journey to finding her way back physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Nikki also shares the heart behind her book, Let's Be Real: Mamahood Is Hard. We Need Each Other More Than Ever, and why motherhood was never meant to be something we figure out alone. The conversation explores asking for help, finding your people, allowing kids to make mistakes, and letting go of the idea that being a good mom means getting everything right.

Together, Nikki, Gina, and Lea get real about the picture perfect version of motherhood we see online and how comparison can leave women feeling like they are constantly falling short. They talk about parenting through different seasons, the beauty of grandparenting, career pressures, and the unrealistic expectation that moms should somehow raise children, build careers, maintain beautiful homes, and make it all look effortless.

This episode is a reminder that real motherhood is messy, funny, exhausting, beautiful, and sometimes overwhelming. You do not have to have it all together. You need people who will remind you that you were never supposed to do it all alone.